New Publications

Trade unions and NGOs call on governments to use their leverage and coordinate collective action to raise the missing $9 million for the Rana Plaza Donors Trust Fund, before the second anniversary on the 24 April 2015.

OECD commends the Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct and other key stakeholders for their efforts in developing a new draft Core Template for Voluntary Peer Reviews. We recognise and appreciate that the draft has incorporated several of our recommendations on accessibility and translation services, consultations with parties to specific instances, and reporting back on the implementation of peer review recommendations. These modifications are encouraging, but additional improvements are needed to ensure an independent and effective peer review process that functions in a practical, cost-effective manner.

The OECD is currently in the process of updating its Policy Framework for Investment (PFI) to reflect developments in global economic trends and has requested input in the process from experts in the international investment community. The OECD has requested input from OECD Watch, and OECD Watch welcomes the opportunity to comment on the draft updates of the PFI chapters.

OECD Watch appreciates the opportunity to make a submission to the OECD’s Working Party on Responsible Business Conduct (WPRBC) and the NCPs, in relation to the agenda of their joint meeting on the 4th of December 2014. This submission, accompanied by OECD Watch’s December 2014 Quarterly Case Update, provides input for the WPRBC and NCPs’ discussions on five subjects.

The highlights of this Quarterly Case Update include re-filing of case against BT after new information substantiating a link between BTs services and US drone operations has been uncovered. New cases alleging breaches of the OECD Guidelines have been filed against ANZ Bank, G4S, Rabobank, F1 One Grand Prix companies, and Kinross Gold. Also in this Quarterly Case Update are updates on progress in the cases involving Andritz, ENRC, Statkraft and Socapalm. The UK NCP rejects the cases against 6 UK telecom companies, arguing insufficient substiantiation of the link between companies and mass surveillance by the UK government. The Canadian NCP uses flawed and unsubstantiated reasoning to reject the cases against Corriente Resources and CRCC Tongguan more than a year after filing. Final statements have been issued by German NCP on the cases against Karl Rieker and KiK and the UK NCP in the case against GCM. Unable to get GlencoreXstrata to come to the table, the Argentine NCP closed the glacier mining case and criticises GlencoreXstrata for its refusal to engage in mediation.